Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The sterling was choppy against the euro and buck in trading on Wednesday afternoon in New York. The currency, meanwhile, was weak against the yen. The British pound moved as the CBI distributive trades survey results were released.

The sterling moved little against the European currency in action on Wednesday. By the mid afternoon, the British currency had bounced between a low of 0.6738 and a high of 0.6724. In general, the cable is at a weekly high against its European counterpart.

The British currency was mixed against the dollar in trading on Wednesday. By the mid afternoon, the sterling had moved between a high of 1.9981 and a low of 1.9930. Overall, the pound is near a two month high against the American dollar.

Versus the yen, the British currency saw weakness on Wednesday afternoon. The currency dropped in the first few hours of the day, and remained near a mark of 244.65 as trading continued. On the whole, the British pound is at a two week low.

The CBI distributive trades survey revealed on Wednesday that the three-month average of sales volumes remained buoyant at 31% and was considered as above average for the time of the year. However, 37% of the retailers` annual sales had increased, while 20% of the retailers surveyed reported that sales were down. The balance of 17% was in line with the long-term average and economists expectations; yet it was the lowest since November last year.